[Effective 6/12/2024]

1. a. The Business Action Center established in the Department of State pursuant to Reorganization Plan No. 003-2011 shall establish a mentorship program to match mentor entities with experience in particular areas with newly established entities seeking to learn from those mentor entities. The center shall, as practicable, incorporate the mentorship program into the center’s ongoing outreach and assistance efforts.

b. The goal of the program shall be to facilitate the sharing of knowledge to confront common challenges in an evolving economy. The Business Action Center shall encourage participating mentor entities to share with mentee entities, when relevant, the following: those mentor entities’ experiences transitioning to a new form of commerce, such as transitioning from brick-and-mortar to online or transitioning to the sale of a product or service that the mentor entity did not previously have experience selling; and suggestions to avoid common pitfalls when transitioning to a new form of commerce.

c. The Business Action Center shall seek the assistance of chambers of commerce and other local organizations to solicit the participation of businesses in the program and to compile a list of mentor and mentee businesses to be matched by the center.

d. The Business Action Center shall establish the terms and conditions by which entities may participate in the program, including requirements for minimum quarterly and in-person meetings between mentor and mentee entities.

L.2023, c.166.